Conveyors commonly used in the food and packaging industries (in particular soft drink manufacturing facilities, breweries, fruit juice manufacturing facilities, dairies, etc.) generally require periodic cleaning in order to maintain the conveyor in a sanitary condition. This cleanliness requirement in turn requires the application of various cleaning ingredients such as detergents, sanitizers, bactericides, slimicides, etc. A simple, yet very time and labor intensive practice is to apply these cleaning ingredients to the conveyor system manually, either by high pressure hot water, steam, or other methods. Additionally, there is a tendency in manual cleaning to over-apply and waste the cleaning products. This manual practice is both expensive, cumbersome and dangerous and may not provide an adequately clean conveyor belt. The art recognizes a need for improved methods and apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,243 provides an alternative to the above described cleaning method. King teaches a pneumatically controlled cleaning and rinsing system for conveyors. The valves for providing cleaning and rinsing ingredients are pneumatically actuated, as are the timers and sequencer valves. Pneumatically controlled and actuated equipment is stressed because of the desire to eliminate corrosion of electrical equipment and components in wet environments.
Others have provided alternate conveyor cleaning and/or lubricating systems to replace systems that include electrical equipment. U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,481 describes an apparatus and method for lubricating conveyors and belts used in the food industry comprising a device including valves which are alternately opened and closed by an actuating device driven from the conveyor movement. The valves supply a lubricant which is fed to output nozzles for spraying onto the conveyors for lubricating purposes, and the valves will only feed lubricant when the conveyor is moving. Alternately, U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,899 teaches an air-driven delay valve or relay, which is driven from the conveyor system, and which connects to a counter which controls the valve that passes lubricant in a pulsating or intermittent fashion.
However, pneumatically controlled systems, such as those described above, can be inaccurate, for example, in their time measurement and fluid dispensing, leading to ineffective cleaning and/or lubricating of the conveyor and wasted supplies. A substantial need exists for a cleaning and lubricating system for conveyors that is simple, accurate, versatile, reliable, and is easy to maintain.
The present invention relates to a new and improved apparatus and method for cleaning and lubricating conveyor systems using a microprocessor controlled control system. The control system senses movement of the conveyor belt and the presence of any items, such as cans, bottles, or food products, on the conveyor belt, and in return either cleans or lubricates the conveyor as needed. This automated system reduces the amount of labor needed to perform these critical tasks, as well as reduces the amount of wasted cleaning and lubricating supplies.
In particular, the present invention relates to a conveyor system that includes the combination of a conveyor system, a washing system, and a lubrication system. The conveyor system is for transporting an object, with the conveyor system including a conveyor belt having a front side and a back side, and a drive mechanism for providing movement to the belt. The washing system is for rinsing and washing the conveyor belt and includes a water source, a detergent source, a mixing chamber to mix the water and the detergent to form a cleaning solution, and an applicator for application of the cleaning solution onto the belt. In some embodiments, the applicator is a spray nozzle. The application of the cleaning solution onto the belt is controlled by a control system, which comprises a microprocessor adapted to provide a signal to open the applicator to provide rinse or cleaning solution onto the belt. The lubrication system is for lubricating the conveyor belt to improve belt tracking and to extend the useable life of the belt. The lubrication system includes a lubricant source and an applicator for application of the lubricant onto the belt. In some embodiments, the applicator is a spray nozzle. The application of the lubricant onto the belt is controlled by a lubricant control system that includes a first sensing system to sense movement of the belt, a second sensing system to sense presence of items on the belt, and a control system comprising a microprocessor that receives signals from the sensing systems and sends signals to open the applicator to provide lubricant onto the belt on a predetermined, timed basis.
The amount of lubricant applied to the belt is dependent on the signals from the first and second sensing systems. In particular, if the first sensing system confirms movement of the belt and the second sensing system confirms an object, the microprocessor provides a signal to provide lubricant so that a first amount of lubricant is fed from the lubricant source and is applied onto the conveyor. If the first sensing system confirms movement of the belt but the second sensing system does not confirm the presence of an object, the microprocessor provides a signal to provide lubricant so that a second amount of lubricant is fed from the lubricant source and is applied to the conveyor, the second amount of lubricant being less than the first amount. If the first sensing system does not confirm movement, whether or not items are present on the belt, the microprocessor does not provide a signal to apply lubricant.
In a further aspect of the invention, the washing system comprises a microprocessor to provide a signal to apply a rinse or cleaning solution to the conveyor belt for a predetermined time interval. Typically, this washing process occurs after any production run on the conveyor system is complete. The washing process generally includes a first rinse step, a cleaning step, and a second rinse step.
The invention will be further described in relation to the included drawings.